editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Laura Sydell fell in love with the intimate storytelling qualities of radio, which combined her passion for theatre and writing with her addiction to news. Over her career she has covered politics, arts, media, religion, and entrepreneurship. Currently Sydell is the Digital Culture Correspondent for NPR's All Things Considered , Morning Edition , Weekend Edition, and NPR.org. Sydell's work focuses on the ways in which technology is transforming our culture and how we live. For example, she reported on robotic orchestras and independent musicians who find the Internet is a better friend than a record label as well as ways technology is changing human relationships. Sydell has traveled through India and China to look at the impact of technology on developing nations. In China, she reported how American television programs like Lost broke past China's censors and found a devoted following among the emerging Chinese middle class. She found in India that cell phones are the computer of theNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Laura SydellThu, 16 Nov 2017 15:23:10 +0000Laura Sydellhttp://iowapublicradio.org
Laura SydellThis week, another big name in tech was toppled by accusations of sexual harassment — venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson, an investor in Tesla and SpaceX who left his prominent Silicon Valley company. The big-money world of Silicon Valley remains dominated by men and remains a hard place for women to speak out if they want to join the ranks of its richest. And some women think the best way to fight harassment is to tread carefully and get to the top. It's definitely harder for women to get there. Last year, nearly 6,200 new companies got close to $60 billion in venture capital funding, according to the venture capital database PitchBook. But the share of funding that went to women was just 2.19 percent. That's less than in any year during the past decade, except for 2008 and 2012. Among the few firms started by women is Fem Inc. The company, which does research that looks at how technology and media can engage people to make positive choices, raised $5 million in venture funding. ButStruggling For Investments, Silicon Valley Women Reluctant To Speak Out On Harassmenthttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/struggling-investments-silicon-valley-women-reluctant-speak-out-harassment
98175 as http://iowapublicradio.orgThu, 16 Nov 2017 13:03:00 +0000Struggling For Investments, Silicon Valley Women Reluctant To Speak Out On HarassmentLaura SydellPresident Trump is facing a lawsuit for blocking people from his Twitter account. This week some First Amendment advocates joined the suit — and they are making a novel argument about the right to communicate with the president in the digital age. One of the plaintiffs in the suit is Philip Cohen, a sociology professor at University of Maryland. Just like President Trump, Cohen likes to tweet. He saw an opportunity to express himself to the president by tweeting to the account @realDonaldTrump . "I noticed right away that his Twitter feed was a place that people congregated and exchanged views," he says. "So that was the place to go to express myself." Cohen has a verified account on Twitter — that's when you have a following and they confirm you are who you say you are. That means his tweets got to the top of the president's feed. Cohen set up an alert so that he could know when President Trump tweeted. "If I replied right away, I could get lucky and have a lot of people read myFirst Amendment Advocates Charge Trump Can't Block Critics On Twitterhttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/twitter-users-have-sued-trump-over-his-practice-blocking-critics
97826 as http://iowapublicradio.orgTue, 07 Nov 2017 23:17:00 +0000First Amendment Advocates Charge Trump Can't Block Critics On TwitterLaura SydellFacebook, Google and Twitter head to Washington this week for their first public congressional hearings on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign via their social networks. In the runup, NPR is exploring the growing social media landscape, the spread of false information and the tech companies that build the platforms in our series: Tech Titans, Bots and the Information Complex . Earlier this year, a Facebook group page called Blacktivist caught the eye of M'tep Blount. As a supporter of Black Lives Matter, Blount figured Blacktivist would be a similar group. The Facebook page came with a message: "You have a friend who is a part of this group," and it had a huge following — over 400,000 as of late August. Blount found that Blacktivist's page shared information about police brutality. Videos often showed police beating African-Americans in small towns. "It was like, 'Wow! This is happening in this community too. I really hope they do something about it but they probablyHow Russian Propaganda Spreads On Social Mediahttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/how-russian-propaganda-spreads-social-media
97394 as http://iowapublicradio.orgSun, 29 Oct 2017 11:05:00 +0000How Russian Propaganda Spreads On Social MediaLaura SydellApple is about to close a deal with director Steven Spielberg to revive his Emmy award-winning series Amazing Stories for Apple TV. With it, Apple is entering a world in which Netflix has been a leader. But now, new competitors to Netflix are emerging at a surprising speed. It was just 2013 when Netflix's House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey was the breakthrough in streaming TV. It was the first online-only series to get nominated for major Emmys. But at this year's Emmys, The Handmaid's Tale , produced by Hulu, beat out House of Cards and became the first streaming TV series to win the Emmy for best drama. A year earlier, Netflix barely had to think about Hulu. Now, it's one of a growing list of competitors, says Mark Suster, who invests in video. "You not only have Amazon, but you increasingly are gonna have Spotify, and you have Apple and you have Comcast," he says. "There are so many people that will be moving into this space." This means a lot more content to watch for viewers andOnce Dominant, Netflix Faces An Increasing Number Of Video Challengershttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/once-dominant-netflix-faces-increasing-number-video-challengers
96654 as http://iowapublicradio.orgWed, 11 Oct 2017 22:03:00 +0000Once Dominant, Netflix Faces An Increasing Number Of Video ChallengersLaura SydellIn the hours just after the massacre in Las Vegas, some fake news started showing up on Google and Facebook. A man was falsely accused of being the shooter. His name bubbled up on Facebook emergency sites and when you searched his name on Google, links of sites connecting him with the shooting topped the first page. It appears to be another case of automation working so fast that humans can't keep pace. Unfortunately, these powerful tech companies continue to be a main destination for news and it's not clear how they can solve the problem. In this particular case, the man's name first appeared on a message board on a site called 4chan. It's known as a gathering spot for underground hackers and the alt-right. Everyone who posts is anonymous. And we're not publishing the man's name because he's been through enough. Shortly after the shooting, police announced that a woman named Marilou Danley was a person of interest. She had been living with the shooter in his Nevada home. On a messageFacebook, Google Spread Misinformation About Las Vegas Shooting. What Went Wrong?http://iowapublicradio.org/post/facebook-google-spread-misinformation-about-las-vegas-shooting-what-went-wrong
96314 as http://iowapublicradio.orgTue, 03 Oct 2017 22:16:00 +0000Facebook, Google Spread Misinformation About Las Vegas Shooting. What Went Wrong?Laura SydellFacebook is under increasing pressure to scrutinize its advertising content after it discovered that at least 3,000 ads on the site had been placed by a Russian agency to influence the 2016 presidential election. The revelations about the ads came after months of denial by CEO Mark Zuckerberg that Facebook played any role in influencing voters. As has been widely reported, the pressure on the company began shortly after the 2016 election. But Zuckerberg rejected the idea that fake news on the network had any impact on voters. He called that a "crazy idea" and said "voters make decisions based on their lived experience." But at a conference in Lima, Peru, shortly after the election, then- President Barack Obama pulled Zuckerberg aside and made a personal appeal to him to take the threat of fake news seriously because it wasn't going away and would return again to haunt the next election, The Washington Post reported. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., also had conversations with the companyFacebook Faces Increasing Scrutiny Over Election-Related Russian Ads http://iowapublicradio.org/post/facebook-faces-increasing-scrutiny-over-election-related-russian-ads
96011 as http://iowapublicradio.orgTue, 26 Sep 2017 22:30:00 +0000Facebook Faces Increasing Scrutiny Over Election-Related Russian Ads Laura SydellTelecom Companies Turn To Drones For Help After Hurricaneshttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/telecom-companies-turn-drones-help-after-hurricanes
95330 as http://iowapublicradio.orgSun, 10 Sep 2017 16:48:00 +0000Telecom Companies Turn To Drones For Help After HurricanesLaura SydellFollowing the violence in Charlottesville, Va., Silicon Valley tech firms removed far-right groups from search results, cut off their websites and choked their ability to raise money online. The moves have leaders on the far-right calling for the government to step in and regulate these companies. They have some strange bedfellows in this — many liberals also are calling for more regulation of the same companies. On the far-right is Richard Spencer. He is a white supremacist. "I would ultimately support a homeland for white people," Spencer says. "I think that ethnically or racially defined political orders are legitimate." After Donald Trump was elected president, Spencer got some press about a speech during which he shouted: "Hail Trump! Hail our people! Hail Victory!" and members of the audience gave him a Nazi salute. But, it is the First Amendment that now inspires Spencer, who was a speaker at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. In the wake of the violence thatUnlikely Allies Join Fight To Protect Free Speech On The Internet http://iowapublicradio.org/post/unlikely-allies-join-fight-protect-free-speech-internet
94525 as http://iowapublicradio.orgWed, 23 Aug 2017 09:00:00 +0000Unlikely Allies Join Fight To Protect Free Speech On The Internet Laura SydellIn the aftermath of the white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville, Va., many civil rights activists took to Twitter and shared photos of people who allegedly were at the march. The idea was to identify who they were and shame them. But identifying someone from a photo can be tricky — and the activists managed to make at least one mistake. It was Saturday and Kyle Quinn and his wife were having a quiet afternoon at home: "I was sitting on the on the couch with my wife; I think we were watching Planet Earth II " — a nature documentary show — "and I got a phone call." It was from the university relations office at the University of Arkansas, where Quinn works as a professor of biomedical engineering. "They wanted to confirm where I was," he says. And then it got stranger. "They asked whether I'd heard about what was going on in Charlottesville. I told them I was vaguely familiar." The school official told Quinn his weekend was "about to get a lot worse." A counterprotester at the whiteKyle Quinn Hid At A Friend's House After Being Misidentified On Twitter As A Racisthttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/kyle-quinn-hid-friends-house-after-being-misidentified-twitter-racist
94298 as http://iowapublicradio.orgThu, 17 Aug 2017 17:02:00 +0000Kyle Quinn Hid At A Friend's House After Being Misidentified On Twitter As A RacistLaura SydellThe names and faces of individuals who were part of last weekend's white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., are being plastered all over the Internet by civil rights advocates. It's part of an effort to shame the people who participated. But it's a tactic that can also snare some innocent people in its net. "Yes, You're Racist" is the name of a Twitter account that has been very active in posting pictures of white supremacists at the Charlottesville march and rally. Logan Smith, who runs the account, thinks other people should see the faces of white supremacists. "They're not wearing hoods anymore — they're out in the open," Smith says. "And if they're proud to stand with KKK members and neo-Nazis and anti-government militias, then I think the community should know who they are." Smith says he didn't attend the rally, but he has been getting pictures from activists who were there. They share them through social media. He reposts them on his Twitter account. And on Twitter,Some Are Troubled By Online Shaming Of Charlottesville Rally Participantshttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/twitter-account-names-and-shames-far-right-activists-charlottesville
94166 as http://iowapublicradio.orgTue, 15 Aug 2017 09:01:00 +0000Some Are Troubled By Online Shaming Of Charlottesville Rally ParticipantsLaura Sydellhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPuyDbQwfHs A Google engineer who got fired over a controversial memo that criticized the company's diversity policies said that there might be biological reasons there are fewer women engineers. But top computer science schools have proven that a few cultural changes can increase the number of women in the field. In 2006, only about 10 percent of computer science majors at Harvey Mudd College were women. That's pretty low since Harvey Mudd is a school for students who are interested in science, math and technology. Then, Maria Klawe began her tenure as president of the college. Klawe — a computer scientist herself — had always been told that girls weren't good at these things. "This whole idea that women lean to liking doing one thing and men to doing another, it turns out I think if you do the curriculum and pedagogy well that's just false," she says. In fact, as soon as she arrived Klawe joined in an effort to change the curriculum. First the schoolColleges Have Increased Women Computer Science Majors: What Can Google Learn? http://iowapublicradio.org/post/colleges-have-increased-women-computer-science-majors-what-can-google-learn
94001 as http://iowapublicradio.orgThu, 10 Aug 2017 21:17:00 +0000Colleges Have Increased Women Computer Science Majors: What Can Google Learn? Laura SydellGoogle CEO Sundar Pichai cut his the vacation short and returned to the company's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters as criticism mounted over a senior engineer's controversial memo condemning Google's diversity initiatives. The engineer was subsequently fired. The memo, which some inside Google jokingly called a "manifesto," was widely shared inside and outside the company. James Damore wrote that "biological causes" are part of the reason women aren't represented equally in its tech departments and leadership. In addition, Damore said men have a "higher drive for status." Damore also criticized the company for being an "ideological echo chamber" that made it hard to dissent from "Google's left bias" and "politically correct monoculture." He also faulted the company for offering mentoring and other opportunities to its employees based on gender or race. Pichai released a memo of his own Monday night about the situation. Pichai said that he supported the right of workers to expressGoogle CEO Cuts Vacation Short To Deal With Crisis Over Diversity Memohttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/google-ceo-cuts-vacation-short-deal-crisis-over-diversity-memo
93874 as http://iowapublicradio.orgTue, 08 Aug 2017 16:53:00 +0000Google CEO Cuts Vacation Short To Deal With Crisis Over Diversity MemoLaura SydellCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit DAVID GREENE, HOST: Google has fired a software engineer who wrote a controversial internal memo that leaked over the weekend. James Damore's memo, called "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber," criticized the company's effort to diversify its workforce. And in doing so, the memo relied on gender stereotypes about women in tech. And let's talk more about this with NPR's Laura Sydell. Hi, Laura. LAURA SYDELL, BYLINE: Good morning. GREENE: So tell us exactly what this memo said. SYDELL: Well, among the things that the memo said was that Google was an echo chamber of opinion. And if you criticize the company's efforts at diversity, then you were a bad person. And most specifically, though, the memo questioned whether or not women were biologically suited to be engineers. And I think that's what really set off the firestorm within Google. GREENE: I can imagine. I mean - and we should this is one person's opinion that he sent around to colleagues. That'sGoogle Fires Engineer Who Criticized Diversity Effortshttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/google-fires-engineer-who-criticized-diversity-efforts
93869 as http://iowapublicradio.orgTue, 08 Aug 2017 12:27:00 +0000Google Fires Engineer Who Criticized Diversity EffortsLaura SydellPeople from New Jersey are used to defending their state. But, in fact, New Jersey has a history to brag about. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, the phonograph and the movie camera there. Many decades later, Bell Labs invented the transistor in the state. Geography favored New Jersey. On one end, it borders New York City, and on the other end is Philadelphia. That means easy access to Wall Street financing, transportation and industry headquarters. It all started in the 18th century, when Alexander Hamilton took one look at the plunging Passaic River waterfall in Paterson and his eyes lit up with dreams of industry. That came true for silk, textiles and locomotives. Then in 1870, a smart young inventor named Thomas Edison set up shop in Newark . "The things that make it attractive for Edison are the things that kind of make it attractive for a lot of aspiring people who come to New Jersey today," says Leonard DeGraaf, an archivist at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park inBefore Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovationhttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/silicon-valley-new-jersey-reigned-nations-center-innovation
91112 as http://iowapublicradio.orgMon, 05 Jun 2017 22:18:00 +0000Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of InnovationLaura SydellThis year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of the man who invented recorded sound — Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville. He beat the more well-known inventor Thomas Edison by 20 years, though his accomplishments were only recognized over the last decade. While the uses of recorded sound seem obvious now — music, news, voice messages — none of it was obvious to Scott or Edison when they made the first recordings. It's a story that has some lessons for today's aspiring inventors. In 1857, Scott patented the earliest known sound recording device, the phonautograph — a device with a big funnel for catching sound and a needle attached to parchment that caught the vibrations and tracked them on soot-coated glass. Scott attempted several recordings of instruments, speech and of himself singing the song, Clair de Lune . But Scott never heard that recording. We can only hear the scratchy, haunting, but recognizably human sounds of those recordings now because almost a decade ago someAt The Dawn Of Recorded Sound, No One Caredhttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/dawn-recorded-sound-no-one-cared
90524 as http://iowapublicradio.orgMon, 22 May 2017 22:59:00 +0000At The Dawn Of Recorded Sound, No One CaredLaura SydellGoogle offered a glimpse of how it sees the future at its annual developer's conference this week. And it involves a lot of blending between the virtual and the real worlds using augmented and virtual reality. Google is calling that blend immersive computing. Clay Bavor, who heads up Google's AR and VR division, says it's all part of a future where the virtual and real worlds blur. "Virtual reality can make you really feel transported somewhere else," Bavor says. "Augmented reality can bring kind of digital information into your environment and make it really seem as if it's there in the real world." When it comes to virtual reality other companies like Facebook's Oculus Rift, Sony VR, and HTC Vive have aimed for the expensive high end. But Google has actually reached more people with its $15 Cardboard viewer that attaches to smartphones. This week it announced plans for a more advanced VR headset. Google will be the first major company to release stand-alone VR goggles. "UnlikeIn Google's Vision Of The Future, Computing Is Immersive http://iowapublicradio.org/post/googles-vision-future-computing-immersive
90440 as http://iowapublicradio.orgSat, 20 May 2017 12:01:00 +0000In Google's Vision Of The Future, Computing Is Immersive Laura SydellCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: Google offered a glimpse of how it sees the future at its annual Developers Conference this week, and that future involves a lot of blending between the real world and the virtual one. The company is investing heavily in what it's now calling immersive technology. NPR's Laura Sydell has more. LAURA SYDELL, BYLINE: Google's been the leader in getting the world acquainted with virtual reality. It's got that cheap, hand-assembled viewer called Cardboard that attaches to a smartphone. The company's going full throttle now and partnering with HTC and Lenovo on a standalone headset made of tougher stuff than Cardboard. Clay Bavor heads the division that developed it. CLAY BAVOR: Unlike systems that you have to connect to a PC or where you take your smartphone and insert it into a VR headset, everything you need for VR is contained right in the headset itself. SYDELL: Google is the first major company to release a standalone VRGoogle Is Investing In 'Immersive Technology'http://iowapublicradio.org/post/google-investing-immersive-technology
90372 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 19 May 2017 09:10:00 +0000Google Is Investing In 'Immersive Technology'Laura SydellVideo of a murder uploaded to Facebook this week upset many users, especially since it took Facebook two hours to take it down. But the incident illustrates a dilemma for the company as it becomes an open platform for both recorded and livestreamed video. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was contrite about the incident when he appeared on stage at the company's F8 developer's conference. "Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Robert Godwin Sr.," said Zuckerberg, referring to the man whose murder was posted on Facebook. "And we have a lot of work, and we will keep doing all we can to prevent tragedies like this from happening." But, doing more may not be so easy for Facebook. On the one hand, its users want to be free to express themselves; on the other hand, they do want some protection. "Half the time it's, 'Oh no, Facebook didn't take something down, and we think that's terrible; they should have taken it down,' " says Daphne Keller, a law professor at Stanford University. "AndMurder Video Again Raises Questions About How Facebook Handles Contenthttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/murder-video-again-raises-questions-about-how-facebook-handles-content
89138 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 21 Apr 2017 20:48:00 +0000Murder Video Again Raises Questions About How Facebook Handles ContentLaura SydellIt's been lean times for some of YouTube's most popular video producers. In the last two weeks ad rates have gone down as much as 75 percent. The producers are caught up in a struggle between advertisers and YouTube over ad placement. In recent weeks, reports showed ads from major brands placed with extremist and anti-Semitic videos. Companies such as General Motors, Audi and McDonald's pulled out of YouTube. That means there's less money for everyone. Now YouTube is trying to convince these companies to come back. And that's meant adjusting the algorithm that places ads. David Firth , a British animator whose dark comedic videos were bringing in a good living, says recently his earnings have "taken a huge nose dive." Firth says to bring back advertisers, YouTube began to stop running ads with some videos. "They've decided that there are a whole new set of rules for what you can and you cannot put an advert on and make money off," he says. "And they didn't tell anyone. They justOnline Video Producers Caught In Struggle Between Advertisers And YouTubehttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/online-video-producers-caught-struggle-between-advertisers-and-youtube
88784 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 14 Apr 2017 11:27:00 +0000Online Video Producers Caught In Struggle Between Advertisers And YouTubeLaura SydellIt's daunting to think about the number of products Apple has created that have transformed how most people use technology: the original Mac with the first mass-produced mouse, the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad. But fast-forward to 2017, and it appears that a lot of innovation is coming from other companies. Amazon has a hit with its Echo, a speaker device that responds to voice commands. Reviewers say Microsoft's Surface competes with the Mac. And now, Samsung's Galaxy S8 smartphone is getting raves because of its battery life and high-end screen. Both Apple fans and analysts who follow the company are beginning to wonder whether Apple has lost its mojo. All those innovations happened when Steve Jobs, Apple's co-founder, was running the company. And some former employees say a cultural shift occurred at Apple after Jobs died in 2011. One of those former employees is Bob Burrough, a software engineer and a manager who worked on the team that helped create the iPhone. He saysHas Apple Lost Its Innovation Mojo? http://iowapublicradio.org/post/has-apple-lost-its-innovation-mojo
88588 as http://iowapublicradio.orgMon, 10 Apr 2017 08:35:00 +0000Has Apple Lost Its Innovation Mojo?